Streaming music provider Pandora announced today that it would cease its unlimited ad-supported mobile music streaming. Starting March 1, US Pandora listeners will be reduced to 40 hours of free ad-supported streaming by way of mobile devices every month, unless they choose a $0.99 in-app purchase to continue listening for the rest of the month. The policy change does not affect users paying for the premium "Pandora One" service.

Q: I’m over capacity on my iPod touch so i’ve chosen the convert to 128kbps option. It’s taking FOREVER to sync. Literally, it’s been syncing song 2 out of 1800 for an hour already. Is there any way to speed this up? I listen to a lot of music and I hate it when I remove a song from my iPod and then a few months later I suddenly feel like listening to it. - Chaz A: Although the option for converting tracks down to a lower bit…

Our friend Jeff Scott over at 148Apps has been running the annual Best App Ever awards for five years now, featuring some of the greatest apps on the App Store voted down by popular demand to determine the "Best App Ever." Last year's winners have just been announced, and Telltale's The Walking Dead game has taken the top spot in voting. There's no question at all that it's a great game and a terrific app, though personally I played it on the Xbox 360, and I preferred that platform. But it's a solid choice, and if you don't like that one, there are lots and lots of other categories to go through.

While we've seen more than a few flexible batteries in our day, they're not usually that great at withstanding tugs and pulls. A team-up between Northwestern University and the University of Illinois could give lithium-ion batteries that extreme elasticity with few of the drawbacks you'd expect. To make a stretchable battery that still maintains a typical density, researchers built electrode interconnects from serpentine metal wir

Another Wednesday, another TUAW TV Live. While Cupertino has been keeping things quiet recently, there's still a lot going on in the world of Apple. If you have some free time this afternoon, join my fellow TUAW blogger Randy Nelson and me for an hour of live chat about what's new.
Below, you'll find a Ustream livestream viewer and a chat tool. The chat tool allows you to participate by asking questions or making comments. A fan of IRC? Join us in the TUAW TV Live chatroom on server chat1.ustream.tv, chatroom #tuaw-tv. You'll be watching the show in glorious HD!
If you're driving somewhere and would like to watch TUAW TV Live while you're stuck in traffic, please don't -- keep your eyes on the road! However, if someone else i

If you're a gamer and love you some bright colors, Nintendo's got just the bundle of joy with a couple of new 3DS models. "Pink Gloss" and "Light Blue" colors will arrive to the handheld console on March 20th along with a boost in memory from the usual 2GB to 4GB for 15,000 yen (about $160). The rug might be pulled from under your brightly-hued dreams if you're not in Japan, though -- only players in that country will be a

Rather than faux leather, fabric, or another soft material, both the rear shell and front cover are made of hard, molded plastic. The material is lined with vertical ridges, which are handy when using the case as a stand, though the plastic is smooth. A two-inch-long plastic clip in the center of the lid’s right edge snaps around the tablet’s body, fitting into a recession in the rear shell. While it lacks button coverage, Grip’s…

No, it's not the world's most conspicuous surveillance van -- it's one of the first steps toward 5G data. NTT DoCoMo has just confirmed that the gear-laden vehicle above successfully conducted a 10Gbps wireless test in Ishigaki this December with the help of the Tokyo Institute of Technology. The dry run relied on frequencies and bandwidth well outside of usual cellular service, in the 11GHz band with 400MHz of spectrum, but proved that it was possible to blow pas

Here's one way to force two warring companies to hash things out. A federal judge has ordered Apple to cough up more than US$360,000 daily to VirnetX until the two can come to an agreement on the former licensing four of the latter's patents.
The penalties stem from a verdict delivered in November of 2012 which found that Apple's FaceTime and iMessage infringed on four of VirnetX's patents. A jury in Texas awarded VirnetX $368.2 million in damages, and Apple can still appeal that verdict.
US Circuit Judge Leonard Davis has ordered Apple to pay $330,000 in damages and $33,000 in interest to VirnetX daily for the next 45 days, or more than $16 million in total, in an effort to get the two companies to the bargaining table. Additionally, Davis is making the comp

Despite the flood of 4K TVs that are emerging this year, there won't be a lot of content to play on them in the near future short of space galleries and the World Cup. The team at DirecTV can't provide an immediate solution, but it's at least getting ahead of the curve with a spate of new trademarks. The satellite giant now owns trademarks for the terms 4K, 4KN, 4

Naturally, this case adds more bulk than the average model would. It’s almost a full inch taller and wider, and a little more than double the bare iPad’s thickness; this is what you’ll feel the most. Nüüd also adds 48% more weight. The body is mostly plastic, with rubberized black material around the rear edges and a clear window to the back. Snapping it in place takes some effort, as you have to ensure the two hooks at the bottom…

The accessories we've seen from Odoyo in the past have mostly been cases, but now its lineup is growing to include electronic accessories. Among the new options are the Waterproof Sport Earphones with Remote and Mic ($36, aka EP900i). While we're normally not interested in disposably-priced headphones, this model is appealing because of its unusual resilience claims: Odoyo says it's waterproof, dustproof, freezeproof, and shockproof, uncommon by earphone…

The Leap Motion Controller will start shipping to customers on May 13th, Leap has announced. The accessory works with Windows and Mac computers, and lets users control software using 3D hand and figure gestures. Leap opened up pre-orders for the Controller in May 2012, with a $70 pricetag; as of today's announcement, new orders will cost $80.

EA has completed its Origin login service, which means that most of its games going forward (including, presumably, Real Racing 3, which hits the US App Store tomorrow) will use a single company-specific login. Now, all EA games on all platforms will be able to access that login. So, for example, you could transfer your progress on a game of PGA Tour from iOS to your PlayStation 3, or Bejeweled stats on the Xbox 360 might mean something to Plants vs. Zombies

Google's #ifihadglass contest advertises for "bold, creative individuals" to start carrying pre-production builds of Glass later this year. Since most people flatter themselves as dauntless and inspired, Google's challenge casts a wide net and applications are piling into Twitter. The contest apparently also seeks prosperous individuals willing to pay $1,500 for the prize, plus travel expense to pick it up. There might be good fiscal reasons for Google's parsimony, but I can't help noting that the $12 million of revenue generated by eager beta testers

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Amazon decided last year it was time to take the Kindle brand to Japan, but for some reason, the Fire HD 8.9 wasn't invited. Not being one to hold grudges, the biggest Kindle slate has agreed to a belated introduction, and is now available for pre-order on Amazon's Japanese portal, and in several bricks-and-mortar stores. Parting with 24,800 yen (around $269) will reserve you a 16GB model, or you can double that storage to 32GB for a total price of 29,800 yen (around $323). Both configurations are WiFi-only, and will be

Apple has concluded today's annual shareholders' meeting, during which a number of proposals were voted on. Shareholders chose to re-elect the complete board of directors, and also approved items such as Apple's choice of accounting firm and a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation. A measure that would've required executives to hold 33 percent of their stock awards until retirement was defeated, however, as was an initiative to create a board committee on human rights. Apple has regularly come under fire for the labor practices of its suppliers, although it has taken some step

The Apple shareholders' meeting was held in Cupertino earlier today, and CNBC has a full liveblog of all of the proceedings. There wasn't a lot of hard news out of the meeting, as most of it was taken up with bureaucratic goings-on, including the approval of a certain accounting firm, a few votes on executive payments, and the defeat of a proposal to create a Human Rights board committee at the company. All of Apple's directors were re-elected, and Tim Cook got a 99.1 percent approval rating from investors there.
After the meeting, Cook took some questions from shareholders and answered them. He agreed that Apple is just as disappointed as investors in "where the stock trades now v

"We've partnered with some of the biggest and most influential social networks in the world, including Facebook and Ustream, to bring gamers friends into games like never before," former Gaikai CEO David Perry told attendees of Sony's PlayStation 4 event last week. It was the only mention Ustream got during the show, despite the video streaming service playing a critical role in Sony's next video game console. In-tandem with the PlayStation 4's new DualShock 4 controller and its "Share" button, users will be able t

Looking to save some coin on your tech purchases? Of course you are! In this round-up, we'll run down a list of the freshest frugal buys, hand-picked with the help of the folks at Slickdeals. You'll want to act fast, though, as many of these offerings won't stick around long. If you've been thinking about splurging on a mirrorless camera, now might be your chance. A Sony NEX-6 bundle hits the list today with memory card, lens, $50 gift card and

Booq’s latest bag, Boa Courier, is one of the nicest we’ve seen from the company. Coming in separate sizes designed for the MacBook Pro 13” ($110) and 15” ($130), the water-repelling nylon carrier looks really sharp. Worn in landscape orientation and adorned with reflective piping to help keep you safe at night, Boa Courier has room for your computer gear, and also includes a removable key fob.

It's the TUAW Daily Update, your source for Apple news in a convenient audio format. You'll get all the top Apple stories of the day in three to five minutes for a quick review of what's happening in the Apple world.
You can listen to today's Apple stories by clicking the inline player (requires Flash) or the non-Flash link below. To subscribe to the podcast for daily listening through iTunes, click here.

If you've ever tried to play audio from a web app in Chrome for Android, you've likely had the fun cut short the moment your attention wandered over to Google Maps or Instagram. A stable version of Chrome 25 is here to address that headache. Audio in the new browser build will continue to play in the background, and optionally pauses if there's an incoming phone call. Google has less perceptible upgrades behind the scenes, as well: multi-touch zoom and scrolling are faster, and the V8 rendering engine should be quicker on the draw with interactive pages. Those who won't wait fo

A lot of us at TUAW use Tapbots' wonderful Tweetbot iPhone app to feed our mobile Twitter habit. The US$2.99 price tag is apparently off-putting to some iPhone users who want the excellent features of Tweetbot, but would rather pirate the app than pay three measly bucks for it. Gizmodo UK has discovered that Tapbots now has a way to get revenge on those jailbreakers who are pirating the app -- those pirated copies automatically insert the following phrase into the compose field:

Caterpillar's signature yellow and black CAT branding was definitely spinning heads and getting passerby's attention as it showed off its rugged B15. As far as tough goes the handset's corners are wrapped in rubber with the connections in between covered with anodized aluminum. The B15 is IP67 certified, which means both protected from dust and waterproof up to 3.3 feet for 30 minutes and can be dropped from about six feet and live to tell the tale -- you, however, may not. Other notables include a 4-inch WVGA display, dual-core 1GHz Cortex-A9 and a 5-megapixel camera that'll shoot 720p video and can do

Like you, we assumed that the University of Pennsylvania robotics team wouldn't be able to top the wow factor of that amazing video of Quadrocopters playing the James Bond theme, but if this doesn't best it, it sure comes close. Marvel as a quadrocopter, RC truck and a team of scale shipping-containers-turned-autonomous-robotic-boats band together to aid a wood artist's model. It's quite the site to behold, and according to the University, all the researchers have to do is tell the boats the final shape -- in this case a curved, floating bridge. Video's after the break.

CARROT ($0.99) is essentially a game with delusions of productivity. In fact, it was initially pitched to me as a utility app with "personality."
That's problematic because it's not really all that useful. What it is, is silly fun with occasional side benefits of getting things done.
I hand picked the screen shot that goes with this post to reflect my "Aha" moment. It's when I finally realized there was no way this app was actually interested in helping me organize my life and work.
Once I relaxed and let go, CARROT was able to win me over with its charm and superb design. Your tolerance for Kawaii (かわいい, namely, that which is "lovable," "cute," or "adorable," according to Wikipedia) will

Apple’s annual shareholder meeting isn’t usually the source of much news, and this year wasn’t much different. With a judge recently granting Greenlight Capital’s motion to block a vote on a proposal that would require a shareholder vote before issuing preferred stock, many expected Apple would address what it plans to do with the cash

You've already voted for your favorite Insert Coin: New Challengers finalist, right? What? You haven't yet? What are you waiting for? Seriously. The voting's nearly closed! We've already whittled the list down to 10 finalists and asked you to help us get things down to five. Of course, there can only be one big winner, and for that we're bringing in the big guns. MAKE Magazine Editor-in-Chief and Boing Boing co-editor Mark Frauenfelder will be joining us at Expand to help present the top five projects, each of whom will be getting time on our stage to convince readers and judges alike that they deserve to take

Amazon is now shipping one of the least expensive third-party Lightning cables on the market, the AmazonBasics USB A to Lightning Compatible Cable ($15). Ringing up at $4 less then Apple's own cable, it's just about an inch longer, measuring 42.5" from end to end, despite Amazon's claim that it's only three feet long. It's all black, with hard, glossy plastic housings for the USB and Lightning plugs. The latter sheathe isn't the largest we've seen,…

Today on TUAW TV Live, my cohort and partner in crime Randy Nelson and I will be testing out FaceTime's utility in doing live two-person web shows. Oh, and coincidentally we'll be chatting about some of the latest Apple news, maybe destroying some rumors, and definitely interacting with the chat room crowd.
As usual, I'll be starting the show at 5 PM EDT (2 PM PDT / 10 PM BST) sharp, and we'll take a few minutes to chat before the demos start. To join in on the chat and watch the live streaming video, drop by TUAW about five minutes before the start time to get your instructions on how to participate. If you're unable to join us for the show, remember that you can always subscribe to the video pod

Looking for your dream phone? Chances are, this isn't it -- but it could be the precursor to what could eventually be cradled in your pocket, especially if you are a fan of E Ink. The device seen above and in the first gallery below is one of just five prototypes of the E-ink reference phone in existence. The point? The company wants to have a tangible Android-powered (2.3.5 Gingerbread, to be exact) model to give to potential partners, so they can craft something similar down the road. We're told that it will most likely be used on the back of color phones, much like the YotaPhone,

If you're an Amazon Cloud Player user and you have an iPad, you had best go and check your iOS updates. Amazon has updated its Cloud Player app to 2.0, and it now supports the iPad natively.
The update brings a tweaked look to the app as well as new settings to manage the cache size for downloading onto your iPad. Apart from that, there's not much different to the iPhone / iPod version.
Similar to Apple's iTunes Match, Amazon Cloud Player lets you upload your music library to Amazon and then stream it ba

Ustream viewers were really engaged by Sony's big PlayStation 4 hullaballoo last week -- around eight million folks tuned in to the live broadcast on Ustream, with a whopping 1 million concurrents at peak viewing. On average, said viewer watched the two hour and five minute press conference for one full hour. To put that in perspective, the average Ustream viewer in general watches a given broadcast for 20 minutes, effectively meaning the average PlayStation 4 event viewer tri

Apple held its annual shareholder meeting today in Cupertino, California, tabulating votes on corporate governance proposals and taking a limited number of questions from the audience. A majority of shareholders notably voted against proposals to establish a board committee on human rights, as well as a requirement that Apple executives retain 33 percent of their company shares until retirement; both proposals were opposed by Apple. The company’s…

Well, that didn't take long. A mere couple of days after announcing it, too, would be jumping on the Firefox OS bandwagon, Sony's now let it be known that it's making an "experimental" ROM available to devs (or any common, daring owner) with an Xperia E device. According the company's Developer World blog post, this developmental version of Mozill

Apple has rolled out movie support for iTunes in the Cloud for eleven new European markets, notes TNW. Customers in Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden can now download past and future movie purchases from iCloud whenever they want.
In addition to the movie rollout, Apple has also enabled iTunes in the Cloud for TV shows in France.
iTunes in the Cloud originally rolled out in the United States in 2011 with support for music. Movie and TV shows were added

Few people understand the Internet of things better than Rob Chandhok -- president of Internet services at Qualcomm -- and we had the chance to sit down with him in Barcelona after our interview with Raj Talluri. We chatted about AllJoyn, a set of open source services which the company ju

Apple's annual shareholder's took place at the company's Cupertino campus this morning. The meeting is held to allow shareholders to address corporate officers and to handle certain corporate business like reelecting the board of directors and voting on certain proposals. According to CNBC's Jon Fortt, preliminary results show all directors reelected, Apple's accounting firm was approved, a non-binding advisory vote on executive compensation passed, a proposal to require executives to hold 33% of their stock awards until retirement was defeated, as was a proposal to create a Human Rights board committee. The full text of the p

Amazon has released a v2.0 update of Cloud Player for iOS, finally bringing the app to the iPad. The app was initially released for iOS roughly six months ago, but launched without a native iPad interface. Both the iPhone and iPad interfaces have been tweaked to use a new look, and sport a new setting for managing cache size.

G-Boom Wireless Bluetooth Boombox ($100) from G-Project is a beast of a system given its aggressive price, measuring almost a foot wide, five inches deep, and just over ten inches tall. Unusually well-equipped for a $100 system, it includes twin tweeters and full-range drivers, plus bass ports on the back. It's also ruggedized and substantial feeling; in addition to featuring an integrated handle, it has metal side attachment points for a self-supplied…

The smallest and least expensive speaker in G-Project's lineup, G-Zip Wired Travel Speaker ($20) looks somewhat like a grenade, and certainly caught our attention for that reason when we spotted it at CES. Using a retractable audio cable to connect to your iPod, iPhone, or iPad, the speaker packs a battery that lasts up to eight hours and is charged via the included Micro-USB cable. In addition to the silver version here, a blue version will also…

Figure, Propellerhead's popular and inspiring music making app for iOS, has been updated to 1.4.
The update makes sharing your musical creations even easier, now with SoundCloud integration (and by extension sharing on Facebook and Twitter) and AudioCopy, which allows you to copy and paste your music into other compatible AudioCopy apps.
The update also brings Audiobus support, making it possible to stream your music from Figure to other Audiobus-supported apps. Sharing your music from Figure has never been easier!
Additional updates include background audio, so your music keeps playing when you leave the app, so

While we doubt Huawei or LG were singing "I'm late, I'm late for a very important date" at MWC this year, in hindsight they likely would have enjoyed sharing what arguably became the biggest deal of this show. Unfortunately the two handsets we caught up with at Telefonica's booth were behind glass and no amount of reason was going to see them sprung. Obviously the Huawei offering isn't close to ready as it is running on an Android set, though, the LG while powered off certainly looked like a complete housing featuring the requisite home button. So it would seem Firefox OS has become a waiting game as we sit and tally what

The voting portion of Apple's shareholder meeting went as expected on Wednesday, with investors opting to reelect the company's board of directors, while also rejecting outside proposals related to executive stock retention and the forming of a human rights committee.

Waze (free) is a fun mashup of GPS navigation, social networking, and gaming apps that uses the information gathered from the location of users' phones to offer directions and live traffic reports. As reported by Joshua Brustein of the New York Times Bits blog, Waze is now able to change maps in real time to reflect temporary road closures.
Waze gathers traffic speed info from drivers' phones, and currently has about 40 million users contributing to the stream of data. Unfortunately, if a road is closed suddenly because of weather or a bad crash, the Waze system has no way of knowing about the closure to change maps accord

Google's experimenting with gaming once more, this time through its mobile phone-based Chrome browser, today introducing "Super Sync Sports" via its web-based client. The cheeky sports game asks that you input a code to the mobile version of Chrome that enables touch control for the game on your desktop, essentially converting your mobile phone into a (reasonably awkward) game controller. We gave it a shot with the running game on an

"Space," a great man once said, "is the place." Over the centuries, the cosmos have inspired mankind's imagination and innovation, in pursuit of that final frontier. The past few decades, however, have seen a fading of such romantic pursuits, a phenomenon no better illustrated than with the end of NASA's shuttle program. So, where does that put us in 2013? This month, we travel the country in pursuit of an answer, speaking to some of the top minds in the public and private space games. We kick things off with a profile of LiftPort, a commercial space endeavor operating out of a small garage in rural Washington State that has been funding its dreams of space elevators through crowdfunded

South Carolina-based accessory maker Twelve South has released a new version of its BookBook case, this time for the 15" MacBook Pro with Retina Display. The case matches those available for the iPad and iPhone, as well as existing ones for the 11" and 13" MacBook Air models. The 13" MacBook Pro with Retina fits into the existing case designed for the 13" MacBook Air. Designed exclusively for MacBook Air and MacBook Pro with Retina display, BookBook is a totally unique case f

I recently spent some time with Smoovie for Mac, a kid-friendly, stop-motion video app. I really loved it, but I thought I'd check out the iPad version, too. I had a sneaky suspicion Smoovie and the iPad were a match made in heaven, and I think I was right!
Smoovie for iPad is just as easy to use as the Mac version, if not easier. Because of the iPad's built-in camera and portability, it's so mush simpler to make a stop-motion video around the house or even outside -- get down on the floor or right up to the dog's nose. And of course, the iPad's touch screen makes Smoovie that much more intuitive to operate.
There's just something fantastic about not havi

Firefighters already use infrared cameras to find people in burning buildings, but the technology can't distinguish between a person's heat and that of the surrounding fire. That's because a zoom lens is needed to concentrate the infrared rays in a way that enables the apparatus to form a human-readable image. Fortunately, a team of researchers from the Italian Institute of Optics has developed a system that ditches the lens in favor of digital holography that produces detailed 3D images in the darkness. The hardware isn't out of short trousers just yet, but the team is planning to

Apple has released its Cloud Player app for the iPad, some six months after it came out for the iPhone and iPod touch. Your music. Everywhere. Listen to your music collection from the cloud on your iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad anywhere you are. You can download or stream your library from the cloud – or play the music you already have on your device.Amazon has made several moves to expand its cloud music platform in recent months. It has optimized its music store for mobile Safa

Samsung today revealed a new mobile app, Wallet, at the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The app is similar in concept to Apple's Passbook app for the iPhone, in that it saves items like tickets, boarding passes, coupons, and membership cards in a central place. Each item can be tied to time- or location-based push notifications, and/or updated in real-time if details change.

Amazon is warning users not to update the iOS Kindle app, as the most recent release of the software appears to be deleting entire book libraries and saved settings from iOS devices, according to customer reviews. Amazon notes that version 3.6.1 of the app has a known issue: “If you are an existing Kindle for iOS user, we recommend you do not install this update at this time.”

Incipio has released its first pair of Lightning-based car chargers: the Mini Auto Charger - 2.1A Lightning ($30) and Ultra Compact Auto Charger - 1A Lightning ($25). As the names imply, the former is capable of charging most Lightning-equipped devices at high speeds, although it's behind the 2.4A peak of Retina iPads, while the latter is best suited to iPhones and iPods. The design of Mini Auto Charger is quite plain, while Ultra Compact Auto Charger…

Major League Baseball announced in New York City on Tuesday night that nine more ballparks will support Apple's Passbook ticketing system this season, according to GigaOm.
The ballparks include the homes of the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A's, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs. They join the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals, all which began accepting Passbook tickets last fall.
MLB says that three additional parks will announce Passbook support this season, but they're n

If at first your unmanned aerial vehicles don't succeed try, try again? After a series of unsuccessful tests with the Boeing X-50 Dragonfly and Groen Heliplane, the US government is once again trying to develop a high-speed, vertical takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft. DARPA just announced the VTOL X-Plane program, a 52-month, $130 million project with one mission: to build an aircraft that can exceed 300 knots, achieve a hover efficiency of 75 percent or better, and hit a cruise lift-to-drag ratio of 10 or more. In layman's terms, su

Apple's iTunes Music Store is already known to be one of the top contributors to the music industry's bottom line, but a new analysis pegs Apple is bolstering the digital music download market to the tune of about $3.4 billion, or 60 percent of digital revenues.

The Lightning car chargers keep coming, and now that collection includes 2.4-Amp options suitable for charging the third- and fourth-generation iPads at maximum speed. Among them is Odoyo's Micro Car Charger with Lightning Connector ($25*, aka PS110). With a stubby car plug, black cabling, and a Lightning connector at the other end, the design isn't anything fancy, but the power output capabilities make this the fastest iPad charger currently available.…

Everyday street basketball players (and would-be pros) don't have many tools to quantify their progress. InfoMotion Sports thinks they're owed more than just a pat on the back, so it's bringing its 94Fifty smart basketball to everyday hoop fans. Like the existing model for teams, sensors inside the amateur basketball detect the forces involved in a dribble or shot, relaying details such as the throw angle or power through Bluetooth; Android and iOS apps will be available out of the gate. The stats are for more than just bragging rights, too. InfoMotion's custom software centers on tra

Apple is among 60 companies filing a brief with the US Supreme Court in support of gay marriage nation-wide. The iPhone maker will argue that gay marriage bans in 41 states are a detriment to workplace morale, harm employees, and undermine recruiting, according to Bloomberg. The brief comes at a time when the US Supreme Court will hear arguments about the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage in the state in 2008.
Apple, along with companies as diverse as Facebook, Nike, Office Depot, AIG, Barnes & Nobel, and mor

Leap, creators of the Mac and PC 3D motion tracking device announced this morning that it will begin shipping its Leap Motion on May 13th. Last May, Leap announced it would open up pre-orders for the device for $69.99. With today’s announcement, Leap raised the price of the controller $10 dollars; $79.99 is the new retail

Rovio's highly regarded Bad Piggies game has received a major update today, bringing 30 new levels, six new "Road Hogs" time trial levels, and new sandbox and achievement features. The 30 new "Flight in the Night" levels include Angry Birds who will attempt to shoot down the piggies' contraptions if disturbed. In this massive update to IGN's 2012 game of the year, the Bad Piggies are on the move, and they've managed to hang on to the eggs so far! But watch out - you need to sneak past the napping Angry Birds, and they're sleeping with one eye open! Navigate through 30 new Flight in the Night Levels but don't make too much noise, or you'll wake up some seriously furious birds! Also make sure to check out the new "Road Hogs" time trials: can you beat the clock (and your friends) with your crazy

A US District Court has upheld an earlier judgment which awarded VirnetX over $368 million in its patent infringement lawsuit against Apple, Seeking Alpha reports. Apple has been denied a request for a new trial, and must now moreover pay VirnetX $330,211 per day until royalties and other details are settled. The two parties have 45 days to come to their own royalty agreement before Judge Leonard Davis intervenes.

In addition to a new Cloud Player app for iPad from Amazon and the roll out of iTunes in the Cloud features to new countries, below we have put together our usual list of notable apps and updates hitting the store today: Spotify version 0.6.0: Perhaps the biggest update today goes to the Spotify iOS

As timely updates go, this one's a bit long in the tooth. After introducing its Cloud Player for iOS to the iPhone and iPod touch last summer, Amazon's finally gotten around to rolling out a version for iPad owners. The updated app, which is seeing a version bump to 2.0, now sports a tweaked UI and a cache size management tool. Other than that, it's still the same "free" st

While stateside users might complain that we get all the good stuff in Europe first, Apple's iTunes in the Cloud for movies and TV shows has finally got around to rolling in to France and other parts of Europe, eons after it came out in the US. We confirmed that the new functionality works in France, which lets you buy films and TV shows from a computer, Apple TV or iOS device, then download it for free from the cloud on another. Others have reported by Twitter that it's working in Holland and Sweden as well, making it the first big m

Recorded music industry revenues have grown for the first time in 13 years thanks to digital download services such as Apple's iTunes, according to the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI).Related StoriesGestures: Hard to use, harder to findGoogle ports Office-substitute app to Chrome OS, Chrome browserAdobe springs emergency Flash update, says hackers hitting Firefox

Spotify for iOS has just been updated to version 0.6. The update brings some UI enhancements and welcome bug fixes, which are sure to enhance your music listening experience on the app.
Most notably, there's a newly designed Now Playing bar and Track menu, with a redesigned context menu when you tap on a track. Along with a couple other bug fixes, the long standing (and annoying) issue of the wrong track listing being displayed on the lock screen has now been fixed, too.
For all the details check out Spotify on the iOS App Store.
Spotify for iOS is a free app to download, but it's not free to use like the desktop version. You'll need one of Spotify's paid

Who knew that the greatest love triangle of the decade would involve the mobile industry's own Bella Swan, Clearwire? The network provider has accepted an $80 million loan from nailed-on suitor and sparkly vampire, Sprint, but Clear is still pondering a buyout offer from Jacob, sorry,

Amazon yesterday released a minor 3.6.1 update to its Kindle app for iOS, but as noted by TUAW, the company is now warning users in the app description not to install the update.What's New in Version 3.6.1 Note: There is a known issue with this update. If you are an existing Kindle for iOS user, we recommend you do not install this update at this time.According to reports, the update is causing users' entire book libraries to be deleted from their devices. There is no word yet on when a fix can be expected to arrive in the App Store, but Amazon is undoubtedly rushing to fix the issue and Apple is likely to provide an

IK Multimedia has launched a new collection of Orange inspired models for its desktop Amplitube software. Available as a $100 collection through the Custom Shop, AmpliTube Orange features models of 7 amp heads, 9 cabinets, and 1 combo. Amps include the Tiny Terror, a 15W head with a two-stage preamp, as well as the Dual Terror, Thunderverb 200, AD30TC, AD 200, Rockerverb 50, and OR-120. All the Orange models are also available individually in the AmpliTube Custom Shop, along with the rest of IKís huge collection of amp, cabinet, effect, and mic models.

Access to movies and TV shows via iTunes in the Cloud is rolling out across several more European countries, reports say. The one confirmed country is France, where the feature has been tested with both iTunes and the Apple TV. Various people on Twitter, however, are claiming that the option is now also available in Denmark, Sweden, and the Netherlands.

Apple has added movie support to its iTunes in the Cloud service in 11 new European countries today, enabling customers in those countries to re-download content previously purchased from the iTunes store. The new countries include Belgium, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Greece, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, and Sweden. As noted by French site iGen [Google translation], France has also seen iTunes in the Cloud support go live for TV shows.

Major League Baseball announced at a fan event that 13 teams will accept Passbook tickets at their ballparks this season, up from four stadiums last year. It’s confirmed that the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee Brewers, Minnesota Twins, Oakland A’s, and Pittsburgh Pirates will start accepting Passbook tickets for the first time in the 2013 MLB season. Additionally, the Kansas City Royals, New York Mets, and San…

Over at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Samsung just unveiled its "Samsung Wallet," which looks to be an exact ripoff of Apple's Passbook. Like Passbook, Wallet lets users store virtual passes such as movie tickets, boarding passes, coupons, concert tickets, and more. Wallet also sends users location-based push notifications when they enter an area where a pass can be used, just like Passbook. Further, Wallet doesn't offer NFC support, just like Passbook. Instead, it relies on the user scanning a bar code on the virtual passes -- just like P

Amazon made its Cloud Player app available to the iPad and iPad mini today. Version 2.0 of Amazon’s music-streaming app hit the App Store on Wednesday, and the update notably included, aside from optimization, an updated look and new settings to manage cache size. Amazon also released a debacle-of-an-update for its eBook-viewing Kindle iOS app yesterday that intended

This one's coming straight from the horse's mouth. Amazon is acknowledging a "known issue" with version 3.6.1 of its Kindle app for iOS -- the company is recommending that current users avoid the latest update, which hit the App Store today. According to TUAW, the new version may completely erase a user's book library. How this passed the e-book giant's QA team is anyone's guess, but until a revision hits the cloud, we suggest you stay away.Filed under: Software,

Adobe has released promised iPhone and Android versions of Photoshop Touch. The new apps are essentially identical to their tablet counterparts, but with redesigned interfaces meant to accommodate the smaller screen space, and a new set of tutorials. One absence is the specialized stylus support featured in the iPad edition.

Apple has again drawn criticism for contractor labor practices, this time in a report from Hong Kong watchdog group Students and Scholars Against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM). SACOM maintains that Apple is not upholding basic human rights through its monitoring of suppliers; rather, it claims that supplier factories are “intensifying a military-style management of workers.” There are allegations of denying “bathroom breaks, sufficient…

Back when Microsoft released its Office 365 subscription service for home users, it said the business version would be arriving on February 27th. Sure enough, today's the 27th, and Microsoft's issued a press release explaining the pricing for Office 365 ProPlus, Midsize Business and Small Business Premium. At the least expensive end of the spectrum is ProPlus, which includes Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, InfoPath and Access. Like the Home Premium version of Office 365, a user can install the software on up to five devices, though IT controls are of course more of selling point here than they are on the consumer version. That costs $144 per user for a one-year subscription.

Apple appears to have launched iTunes in the Cloud movie and TV show support in France, the Netherlands, and Sweden, according to new reports. French website iGen first reported the availability of Cloud movies and TV shows in France, while Twitter users in the Netherlands and Sweden have reported the same access. Notably, Apple has not yet updated its iTunes in the Cloud country list to include these three countries. [via The Next Web]

Long a stronghold for BlackBerry, the Department of Defense announced this week that it will open its communications network to iOS and Android devices in the coming year. This will be the first time commercial, off-the-shelf products will be used for classified communications.
The biggest changes may come at the Pentagon, which is dominated by BlackBerry smartphones. According to the DOD statement, the Pentagon has more than 600,000 mobile devices, including 470,000 BlackBerry devices, 41,000 iOS devices and 8,700 devices running Google's Android OS. Most of the Android and iOS devices are used for testing purposes or are not directly connected to the Defense Department's

After letting us lay our hands on Ubuntu Touch for the Nexus 10, Canonical is now providing daily builds for its mobile OS on a variety of flagship devices. At this point in its gestation, the software is strictly developer-only, but people are beavering away on getting it running on smartphones like the Galaxy S III, One X and Galaxy Nexus, as well as tablets

GigaOM reports that Major League Baseball is expanding support for Apple's Passbook app, announcing that the digital tickets will be accepted at 13 stadiums this season, up from just four last season. MLB was one of Apple's launch partners for Passbook in September, with mobile tickets accepted by the New York Mets, San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals. They are being joined this season by the Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakland A’s, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs. Three further teams are due to join, but have not yet been named.

First reported by French website iGen.fr, Apple appears to be rolling out iCloud access to TV shows and movies in France. The feature, which allows users to download content purchased through iTunes to various Apple devices, has been available in the US and elsewhere since 2011. The site first noticed access to the movies and

Adobe has released “Photoshop Touch for phone” ($5) as a standalone app for the iPhone and iPod touch. Overlapping with its previous Photoshop Touch app for iPads, it includes core Photoshop features such as combining images, applying professional effects, and sharing results on Facebook and Twitter, here capped at 12-Megapixel image sizes. The user interface has been modified to make better use of Apple’s smaller screens. Prior…

Amazon issued in update to its popular Kindle iOS app and users are crying foul over the update. Apparently, a glitch in the update is erasing the user's entire book library from their iOS device. Amazon has confirmed there is a problem and is warning iOS owners not to update to the latest version of the Kindle app until the glitch is fixed.
[Hat tip to Howard Isaacs]Amazon warns iOS users to not install the latest Kindle app update originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 27 Feb 2013 09:00:00 EST. Ple

From 9to5Google: Samsung is today officially unveiling its “Samsung Wallet” mobile app solution, and it is quickly gaining attention for similarities to Apple’s iOS 6 ticket, card, and coupon solution known as Passbook. For those familiar with Apple’s app, Samsung Wallet appears to work much the same way. The app will allow users to store

We already knew that LG's now jumped on the TD-LTE bandwagon with the demo of a modified Optimus G, but it turns out that China Mobile also announced several devices that are destined for its 4G market, including the 5-inch 1080p Huawei Ascend D2 (D2-TL), the 4.7-inch 1080p HTC One (TD101), the 5-inch XGA LG Optimus Vu II Plus and the mysterious 5-inch 1080p ZTE U9810. Interestingly, our brethren over at Engadget Chinese also spotted a TD-LTE-ready Samsung Galaxy S III at China Mobile's

Spotify gave its Android app a very overdue interface overhaul last year. The iOS version wasn't in quite as dire straits, but we'd still call today's redesign a long-needed modernization that pulls out some of the clutter. Its 0.6 update mostly brings in useful concepts from the Android version, including the always-on Now Playing strip and the seemingly inescapable navigation sidebar. The update also solves a handful of stand-out flaws, such as reflecting the

Chances are, you've been gawking at that gorgeous new Pixel Chromebook, but aren't planning on, you know, buying it. No matter. For those of you who enjoy software porn, we've got a few more shots of the Pixel's forthcoming Photos application, which will eventually make its way to other Chromebooks, too. A developer on Google+ named François Beaufort has uploaded a series of screenshots, giving us a more detailed look -- good news since we only had three screens to show

If you were still thinking that the Leap Motion Controller was going to turn into vaporware, it looks like you were wrong. Just less than a year after the company first made waves with its tiny gesture recognizing box, a finished product is getting ready to ship. Those that pre-ordered should receive their shipping notices starting May 13th. If you weren't willing to commit to the device before hand, you'll still be able to snatch one up at

The American Civil Liberties Union stumbled upon a document submitted to the court during a drug investigation headed up by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The document lists the data that ICE officials were able to pull off an iPhone, and it's striking how much information that one small device can hold.
According to the report, ICE snagged the iPhone from a suspect's bedroom during a drug bust and subjected the phone to one data extraction session. During that sweep, officials were able to obtain the following personal information:
call activity for 104 calls
phone book directory information for 18 contacts
stored voicem

From 9to5Toys.com: We’re liking this new bundle idea: Pick any 10 of the following apps for $50. Some like the Blu-ray player are almost worth the $50 price tag alone. . Related articles The #1 Blu-ray Playing App For Mac [50% OFF](9to5toys.com) Deals: Lifehacker Mac Bundle for $49.99 and Borderlands 2 bundle for $41.99(9to5mac.com)

On top of just recently updating its At Bat 13 iOS app for Spring Training with a ton of new features, MLB announced at an event last night in New York that it will be increasing the number of stadiums that accept Passbook this season. According to a report from GigaOM, the number of stadiums

Another Mobile World Congress, another round of highfalutin' talk surrounding the concept of wireless power. We already witnessed a consumer approach by PowerbyProxi, and now we're hearing that the Power Matters Alliance is getting a second wind as well. The self-proclaimed "leading ecosystem and standard for wireless power" took to Boston-area Starbucks locations last fall, and now it has notched sup

Real Time Logic's multi-function web-based server removes the previous license manager/DRM and adds support for a master password, 20 minute password caching for password-protected links, support for general mass email from the file mailer, and other improvements.

The open source DICOM image management and visualization package is now compiled with LLVM and includes PACS On-Demand support, key images series in WebPortal, multi-threaded compression on DICOM Store-SCP, an option to use other comments DB fields for the Auto-Fill function, and other changes.

The fundraising software for nonprofits adds optional display of donor table summary fields in the Info Palette, a Custom Import Editor, new reports (Donations by Solicitor, Memberships by Solicitor, and Pledges by Solicitor), and other improvements.

Iridient Digital's raw image conversion and correction software gets full support for the DNG v1.4 Camera Profile color rendering specification, support for loading DNG Camera Profiles from standalone files (DCP) as well as DNG images, optional override of DNG Camera Profile tone curves, support for new cameras (including the Sony NEX-3N, Leica M, and Pentax MX-1), and other improvements.

Adobe's AIR-based program for creating web pages without hand coding gains hierarchical Master pages (i.e., masters applied to other masters), an option to layer Master page elements in front of page content, a spelling checker, the ability to change the Z-order of Triggers and Targets in Composition widgets without breaking the connection, and more.

Get discounts on new Mac Minis, Retina MacBook Pros, MacBook Airs, plus digital cameras, TVs and much, much more at Amazon.
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Brother has announced its new HL-3000 series of digital color printers, including the AirPrint-compatible HL-3140CW ($250) and HL-3170CDW ($280). Thanks to the AirPrint functionality, users will be able to print wirelessly from an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch without installing a printer driver. The HL-3140CW offers color and black printing up to 19 ppm, up to 600x2400 dpi resolution, and support of wireless 802.11 b/g/n and USB 2.0 interfaces,…

Further evidence that Apple is working on an iWatch has arrived in the form of a newly published patent filing, but will an Apple smart watch be a hit? Some reports suggest not.Related StoriesGoogle Glass has serious privacy issues; secretive Apple has a phenomenal edgeGestures: Hard to use, harder to findGoogle ports Office-substitute app to Chrome OS, Chrome browser

Just about a year ago at this time, Adobe released an iPad version of their flagship app, called Photoshop Touch. Now, a year later, they've announced a version of the app built specifically for the iPhone's smaller screen, that should be propagating out to the App Store very soon, listed at a price of $4.99.
So what's different? Product manager Stephen Neilson sat down with TUAW a little while ago to demo the new version of the app, and sh

As reported in Seeking Alpha, The parties are ordered to get together between themselves for “royalty” mediation settlement for future use of the technologies in dispute or the judge has stated that he will make a ruling if not reached within 45 days. Patent troll, East Texas kangaroo court, lawyers making a lot of money

If you're wondering what that pretty green icon is that may have popped up recently on your Android device, worry not -- it's just the new Settings app from Google. You can now access preferences from Maps, Google+ and Search from one place through the app, and also see which are hooked in to the new Google+ Sign-In system we saw yesterday. Google took the

Wouldn't it be great if you could get OnStar in your beat-up old jalopy? Vowel-dropping startup Splitsecnd has launched a dongle that plugs into your car's cigarette lighter and calls 911 if it senses you've crashed. When triggered, the hardware uploads your location to the emergency services while a rep will calmly talk you through the process. The unit also comes with a button that lets you call during medical emergencies and other worrying times. It's available for $200 with a $15 monthly fee, and there's a commercial after the break showing how the concept works -- with a woman who takes an awfully long time to say thank you.

Apple appears to have posted a Frequently Asked Questions on Stock Splits. It's not clear if this is a new post because the date is listed as xxx. Could the company be planning a stock split after all?Related StoriesLooks like another patent troll is attacking AppleChinese iPad builder 'turned river milk-white with pollutants'Einhorn victorious, Apple disappointed, but what's best for shareholders

With Sony's latest flagship making its UK debut this week, what better way to celebrate than giving one away? The kind people at Expansys have donated a device for one lucky reader in the UK, while the handset is still only open to pre-orders. If you've entered one of our giveaways before, you may think you know the drill -- but hold up there sonny, as things have changed. Head past the break, and you'll be greeted with our new super compe

Future iPhones could have a 'situational awareness module' that will enable the device to anticipate user needs, triggering particular functions based on environmental attributes, a new Apple patent filing reveals.Related StoriesEU offers funding for 5G, even though most of Europe still has no 4G servicePasscode hack 'won't give access to iPhone data'Apple 'rejecting cookie tracking apps', claim app develop

Yesterday investment manager Doug Kass started a rumour that Apple will announce a stock split. He tweeted: "High above the Alps my Gnome is hearing a rumor that Apple will announce a stock split at tomorrow's shareholder meeting." What followed has lead to claims of stock manipulation.Related StoriesEinhorn says iPrefs are a 'win-win' for AppleLooks like another patent troll is attacking AppleChin

Kids in many parts of the world are growing up surrounded with technology, some from a very tender age. Many schools aren't teaching much if any programming, though, which has led Code.org to make a short film spurring young techies into action. We have a hunch that it might work -- the video has quite possibly the most star-studded collection of men and women explaining how they got into coding and why they like it, including Bill Gates, Gabe Newell and Mark Zuckerberg. There's e

Siri, are you the most amazing feature on the iPhone? If you've seen any Apple advertising at all, you may come to the conclusion that Siri is indeed the slickest feature available on any phone ever made. You may be surprised to learn, though, that Siri isn't the only speech-recognizing search-assistant available on the iPhone, and that it may not even be the best one.Related StoriesVideo: Cute baby talks to iPhone's Siri, gets nowhere, laughsEU offers funding for 5G, even though most of Europe still has no 4G service

Microsoft needs to make up its mind whether it wants to stay a software company or if it's really serious about being a hardware power as well.Related StoriesGive Glass a chance: Google has a vision of a wearable futureGoogle Glass has serious privacy issues; secretive Apple has a phenomenal edgeGestures: Hard to use, harder to find

Today's deal of the day from Rakuten.com is on the Iomega StorCenter ix2 4TB network attached storage system, which has seen a 34 percent price break from $430 down to $280 with free US budget shipping. That price cut makes this the lowest price we have seen on this NAS by $20. The Iomega StorCenter ix2 network storage system includes 4TB (2 x 2TB) but supports up to 6TB (2 x 3TB) of storage with RAID 1 support, Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, and it features a user-friendly, web-based management interface. It is compatible with both Mac and Windows based systems, and includes a three-year warr

Aftermarket water protection provider Liquipel has started working with JayBird to offer some of its products with the hydrophobic coating already applied. The partnership comes at the same time as Liquipel announces the availability of its Liquipod Tower, a self-contained machine that allows for retail establishments to offer the treatment to their customers.

If your heart bleeds Android, but your eyes occasionally wander in the direction of Apple's Passbook, good news. Samsung has announced "Wallet," a ticketing and coupon app of its own. Unveiled at the firm's Developer Day at Mobile World Congress, Wallet comes ready with an open API to encourage adoption, with some big names already onboard including Hotels.com, Booking.com, Expedia, MLB and Lufthansa. Though this isn't the only Android solution we've heard about, as you might exp

It's nice that you can tap-and-drag on your Mac's trackpad, swipe on your iPhone, or pinch on your iPad. These options offer a welcome change to the old keyboard-based approach to computing. But as gestures multiply, I've come to find them confusing, and I realize that rather than simplifying my use of computers, phones, and tablets, they make it more complicated.Related StoriesiOS plus inspired design equals awesome 'iWatch'Give Glass a chance: Google has a vision of a wearable future

Mobile network operators are in an ideal position to take advantage of the burgeoning enterprise mobile cloud services market, because of the amount of data they have about their customers, according to Malcolm Nicholas, CTO of IBM UK and Ireland.Related StoriesiPhone iOS 6.1 security flaw lets attackers bypass passcode lockVideo: Cute baby talks to iPhone's Siri, gets nowhere, laughsEU offers funding for 5

Major League Baseball and Apple's quest to banish paper ticketing received a boost last night after the former revealed that 13 stadiums would offer the latter's Passbook integration this season. Seven teams, including the Oakland A's, Detroit Tigers and Minnesota Twins are signed up, with a further three to be announced separately. How long will it take before the duo hit it out of the park and get a grand slam of all 30 MLB teams? Hopefully long enough for us to learn some more baseball

If Amazon's recent foray into British period drama leaves you cold, its Prime Instant Video service now has something grittier on tap: The FX Network's Justified. Thanks to a new deal with Sony Pictures Television, you can download the western-style crime series for no additional cost if you're a subscriber on the $79 yearly service. It was up for grabs at $1.99 a pop on Instant Video before, where Amazon said it was one of its most popular buys, and now

27.02.2013 10:00 Uhr

If you're looking for an exceedingly tiny ARM-based microcontroller, Freescale says it's just cooked up the world's smallest. Dubbed the Kinetis KL02, the piece of kit is 25 precent smaller than the previous record-holder and measures up at a 1.9 x 2.00 x 0.56 millimeters. Having trouble visualizing exactly how small that is? Just take a gander at the photo above. A 48 MHz ARM Cortex-M0+ processor has made it onto the wafer-level chip-scale package and it'

Why has Apple taken the Apple Store offline?Related StoriesMicrosoft joins list of recently hacked companiesApple patent hints at touchscreen MacBookIf Steve Jobs was right and this is a post-PC era, why did Google release the Chromebook?Mac troubleshooting: What to do when you can

The head of the Office division at Microsoft played coy and dodged questions from analysts about plans to release an iPad version of Microsoft Office, stressing the current online versions and suggesting the program as a selling point for the company's beleaguered Surface tablet. Kurt DelBene was asked about the software at a Morgan Stanley technology conference in San Francisco, but instead pointed to iOS versions of some Office add-ons such as OneNote, Lync, SharePoint and its cloud-storage offering SkyDrive.

27.02.2013 9:00 Uhr

The ANT wireless protocol has long been a darling of the fitness industry and is incorporated into a lot of exercise equipment, from cycling computers to GPS watches. Now Dynastream Innovations, the company behind ANT, has launched a next generation protocol that boasts enhanced encryption, lower cost, faster connections between sensors (around 60 Kbps) and less power consumption when it comes to the ANT+ standard. It's already been released on a nRF51422 SoC by Nordic Semico

According to a report from the mixed-accuracy Taiwanese trade paper DigiTimes, one of Apple's suppliers for 9.7-inch iPad displays saw a 90 percent drop in production from December to January. Orders for full-size displays went from six million units to 600,000, a figure that is seen as exceptionally low even for the traditionally slower calendar second quarter. Blame for the dramatic drop is attributed by the paper to ongoing and growing popularity of the iPad mini, which accounted for the majority of the five million displays LG shipped to Apple.

Most of us think we know the tale of Stuxnet: it's a possibly government-sponsored worm that played havoc with Iranian centrifuges in 2009, setting back the country's uranium enrichment program without involving any traditional weapons. Researchers at Symantec, however, now claim there's an untold narrative. They've discovered a Stuxnet 0.5 version that may have been in development or active as soon as November 2005, two yea

The U.S. Department of Defense today announced (via Bloomberg) a "commercial mobile device implementation plan" that would allow iOS and Android devices to be used on its secure classified and protected unclassified communication networks beginning in February 2014.The implementation plan establishes a framework to equip the department’s 600,000 mobile-device users with secure classified and protected unclassified mobile solutions that leverage commercial off-the-shelf products, promote the development and use of mobile applications to improve functionality, decrease costs, and enable increased personal productivity. The plan or

When LG took the wraps off of its Optimus L-Series II family of phones only the L7II had any launch details attached to it. Now the company say its smaller L3II will debut in Brazil this week with other unspecified Central / South American, European and Asian markets on deck. Bucking the bigger-is-better / more-power trend, the 3.2-inch handset contains just a Snapdragon S1 CPU and 512MB of RAM to push its Android Jelly Bean software and a QVGA res screen. If the combination of dual-SIM capability, smaller size and budget-friendly specs appeal to you (and

Adobe today announced the release of its Photoshop Touch application for the iPhone. Photoshop Touch is the mobile version of Adobe's well-known Photoshop software, designed to bring core Photoshop capabilities to iOS. Previously, the app was only available for the iPad. Rather than making the iPad app universal, Adobe is offering Photoshop Touch for the iPhone for $4.99. It includes the same features found in the iPad version of the app, including layers, selection tools, adjustments, and filters. The app also comes bundled with access to Adobe Creative Cloud and 2GB of free storage. -Use popular Photosh

27.02.2013 7:00 Uhr

We've seen some big Leap Motion deals announced, and some fairly impressive demos, but we haven't yet heard of many big-name apps that will support the gesture control technology. While not the biggest around, Realmac has today confirmed that the Mac version of its Clear to-do app -- itself noted for its novel interface -- will indeed support the motion controller "later this year." Details are light beyond that, but the company's offered a peek at what you can expect in the bri

Here's something we haven't seen in awhile! The now-familiar white sticky note saying that the Apple Store is down for maintenance. Will we get a late-February surprise when the store update is finished? We'll let you know as soon as it comes back up, but until then, speculate in the comments!
Thanks to our eagle-eyed readers who submitted the tip!Apple Store is down originally appeared on TUAW - The Unofficial Apple Weblog on Wed, 27 Feb 2013 00:14:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Adobe unleashed their flagship Photo Editing product today for iPhone and Android. Called Adobe Photoshop Touch for phone [iTunes-$4.99] the App brings many of the features of the tablet version onto the small screen. Much like the tablet version, Photoshop Touch on the phone has core Photoshop features like layers, advanced selections tools, adjustments and filters. We

27.02.2013 6:00 Uhr

Most high dynamic range photography 'cheats' by merging multiple exposures into a composite image, which can lead to blurry shots. While HDR camera technology is catching up and will even let us record HDR video on our smartphones, Rambus believes its new Binary Pixel technology can achieve the effect with less waste. Its new imaging chip tries to replicate the human eye's range through setting light thresholds and oversampling the scene in both space and time. The

Back in our day, software engineering training in junior high and high school meant a couple of Apple IIs and a game of Snake on our graphing calculators (if we were lucky). These days, it's becoming something of a necessity for students, and New York City mayor, Michael Bloomberg, is looking to get out in front of the curve, with the launch of the city's new Software Engineering Pilot program, a curriculum set to kick off at the beginning of the next school year. The program, which will serve 1,000 students (that number jumping to 3,500 in 2016), was designed to help kids prepare for higher education and jobs in the tech sector. We've got to admit, we're feeli

Apple and Samsung's ongoing international patent struggle took a novel turn in Australian Federal Court on Wednesday, with Samsung's counsel questioning whether Apple's claims to "beauty" and "elegance" in its iOS interface is enough to justify an enforceable patent.

Strategy game fans got some great news today with the announcement that XCOM: Enemy Unknown is coming to Mac (can we please call it "OS XCOM" now?) this spring. The highly rated game from Civilization developer Firaxis is being ported to OS X by Feral Interactive from last October's PC release. Dubbed the Elite Edition, the Mac version will include three DLC add-ons: Slingshot, Elite Soldier and Second Wave. Pricing and an exact release date will be confirmed closer to launch.
A reboot of the classic

27.02.2013 5:00 Uhr

Government agencies need some tablet love, too. Dell knows this, and the company's looking to make some headway in that space, along with other areas like healthcare companies and financial institutions that require a high level of protection on their CE devices. The enhanced security version of the Latitude 10 Windows 8 slate features all manner of safe-keeping technologies, including dual-authentication with a smart card and fingerprint reader. There's also a Trusted Platform Module, BitLocker Drive Encryption, Computrace Support and a Noble Lock Slot. All of those sec

Not only does Apple completely dominate enterprise activations of mobile equipment, its share of such activations is growing, according to a new report [PDF] from Good Technology. Looking over the fourth quarter of 2012, Apple devices accounted for eight of the top 10 mobile activations in the corporate sector, with the current iPhone lineup grabbing the top three slots and recent iPad models rounding out the top five. The first Android device, the Samsung Galaxy S III, took sixth place with six percent, with other Android models being beaten out by the iPad 4 and older iOS devices.

Now that EA has gotten Origin for both Windows and Mac under its belt, it's clued GamesBeat into its plans for a cross-platform account system that's taken 1,500 engineers 18 months to build. With the "single identity" solution, gamers can play games tied to their accounts, find friends currently online and join up for multiplayer, message fellow users and access save states across platforms ranging from consoles and smartphones to tablets and social networks. Of course, the business side comes into play too: by keeping tabs on users,

The new Apple 27-inch iMac was introduced in late October, however trying to get your hands on one is not easy. Even now, if you choose a stock or customized option as we did, you will need to wait for up to four weeks before you can get yours. Even ahead of its launch, rumors were circulating that Apple's manufacturing partners were having problems using the new 'friction welding' technique that Apple has employed achieve the ultrathin, unibody design that distinguishes it. It seems that some of those issues may have persisted to some extent as Apple has yet to match supply with demand. So, i

There's a problem with most really usable iPad stands: they're too big to be portable. Sure, you could always use an iPad case that doubles as a stand, but it many situations that ends up being somewhat of a compromise. The team at Rain Design put their formidable minds to work on the problem and demonstrated their solution at Macworld/iWorld 2013. That solution is now shipping: the iSlider (US$49.90), a lightweight and portable iPad stand that adjusts over a 55° range to make your iPad more comfortable to use.
Design
At first glance, the iSlider might be mistaken for an aluminum doorstop or a compact (5.5" deep by 3" wide by a maximum of 1" high) trackpad. Seriously, it doe

27.02.2013 4:00 Uhr

A company called AnoStyle offers a unique method of anodization that permanently alters the color of an iPhone 5 or iPad mini, and it just became available internationally last week, so I decided to give it a whirl and turn my black iPhone into gold. There isn’t much to report other than everything turned out

There's been a degree of irony to MetroPCS' support for for Rich Communication Services when it's been limited to the one carrier's network in the US -- where's that universal chat and sharing we were promised? The carrier plans to live up to those lofty expectations with word that its Jibe Mobile-developed Joyn service will talk to devices on any North American carrier that supports the spec. That currently doesn't equate to ubiquitous access when RCS isn't widespread, but it's a start. We'll just have to w

The new iMac was introduced in late October, however trying to get your hands on one is not easy. Even now, if you choose a customized option as we did, you will need to wait for up to four weeks before you can get yours. Even ahead of its launch, rumors were circulating that Apple's manufacturing partners were having problems using the new 'friction welding' technique that Apple has employed in i

Zen Studios will release Star Wars Pinball for iPad tomorrow. I've spent a week with it and am happy to say that it's great. The game's attention to detail, visuals, gameplay and surprises make it a winner. There's something here for old-time Star Wars geeks as well as those who are growing up with The Clone Wars. Pinball fans will enjoy it, too. Here's my look at Star Wars Pinball for iPad.
Looks
To call Star Wars Pinball a stunner is like saying the sun is warm. There's so much to it, and I keep finding new things. The start screen is well laid out a

27.02.2013 3:00 Uhr

Apple is joining with at least 60 other large corporations in submitting a filing to the Supreme Court in support of extending marriage rights to gay people and against California's Proposition 8, continuing the iPhone maker's long record of supporting equal rights for homosexual couples. Other "friend of the court" filings are coming from diverse sources, including one that includes over 75 well-known Republican leaders -- including New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, among others.

For a limited time, retailer Target is running a special promotion offering two Soundfreaq Sound Platform 2 units for $250 so consumers can experience Sound Platform 2ís dual system streaming feature, which allows two speakers to be paired together via Bluetooth to work as one speaker system with powerful sound and true stereo separation. The device features an upgradeable rechargeable battery, dual USB power ports to charge external devices, and a universal device tray to contain any phone and some tablets. The Sound Platform 2 normally retails for $150 per unit.

Critically acclaimed strategy game "XCOM: Enemy Unknown" is headed to the Mac in a few months, Feral Interactive announced today. The popular strategy game is coming in a special "Elite Edition", which includes previously released add-on content. The Mac release of "XCOM: Enemy Unknown" is the "Elite Edition", and contains all previously released add-on content and updates. "XCOM: Enemy Unknown – Elite Edition" includes the Slingshot and Elite Soldier Pack add-on content, as well as the Second Wave update, which includes a series of gameplay modifiers that add further depth and flexibility to the campaign.XCOM: Enemy Unknown, a re-imagining of 1994's classic strategy game "X-C

Senzari is a Pandora-like Internet radio service, that allows you to listen to streaming music centered around an artist or genre of your choice. For a little while now, the company has hosted the service on its website, but it recently picked up another service called wahwah.fm, and now is going to streamline its offerings into one, mobile-first app. The new app is going to be called Wahwah, and it will combine Internet radio with the idea of "broadcast stations," where you can send out music on your local iPhone to anyone else using the app. The Wahwah app is set to arrive sometime around SXSW, which will take place starting

27.02.2013 2:00 Uhr

Now that Sony has revealed the PlayStation 4 exists (but not much else -- yet) how do we feel about the future of the living room? We'll dig into that, plus some some new home theater related news from Samsung at Mobile World Congress, the return of webOS on TVs and FIFA's acceptance of modern technology and much more, so go ahead and press play. Hosts: Ben Drawbaugh (@bjdraw), Richard Lawler (@rjcc) Producer: James Trew (@itstrew) Hear the podcast

The Wall Street Journal reports on recent moves Apple has made to increase sales in India, one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Recently the company has launched the iTunes Store and the Apple TV there, and it was rumored that Apple Retail Stores were coming to the subcontinent as well. Apple is sidestepping wireless carriers to seize greater control over marketing in India and offering no-in

The iPhone. Is there anything it can't do? The trend towards self-monitoring and informal health tracking continues with uChek. Featured today over at Wired, this app enables you to automatically read, chart, and track a variety of urinalysis tests on your iPhone.
The product works by leveraging the iPhone's highly sensitive camera to read tints from inexpensive urine dip stick tests. Developed by Mumbai-based Myshkin Ingawale, an MIT grad, the app shifts monitoring away from expensive clinics and into the home.
I do worry about lighting variation bu

An apparent issue with permissions on the recovery partition of recent Macs -- those that shipped with Mountain Lion pre-installed -- can make it very difficult to reinstall Mountain Lion in the case of system corruption on the boot drive. The problem even affects trying to restore Mountain Lion from a Time Machine backup, and falsely reports that the Mac in question "isn't compatible with Mountain Lion." Thanks to a support forum thread on Apple's website, a workaround has been found: repairing permissions on the recovery partition.

The Pentagon has issued an instruction on Tuesday, which in theory, will ultimately enable the Department of Defense's (DoD) smartphone users to quickly share classified and protected data, using the latest commercial off the shelf (COTS) technologies. The "device agnostic" plan relayed by DoD officials is intended to make things easier for users and boost classified data security at the same time, but Electronista has learned that the implementation is likely to be anything but smooth.

Echofon for Mac is no longer in development. TUAW's Twitter Client Project surveys popular desktop alternatives in highly subjective reviews.
The YoruFukurou Twitter client (Free) has been designed by geeks for geeks. Packed with customizable features, it bears all the hallmarks of design-by-engineer.
Anyone searching for precise end-user control will gladly find options for many display and notification tweaks. You can set up multiple Twitter accounts, control keyword highlighting, and much more.
What the app doesn't deliver, in my opinion, is a sophisticated design aesthetic, either in usability or the visual layout. Although it's blesse

Apple shares reversed intraday losses and gained slightly after hedge fund manager Doug Kass tweeted a rumor of Apple announcing a stock split at tomorrow's shareholder meeting. However, Kass subsequently sold on the run up and then disavowed the rumor as impossible and unlikely to actually happen.

Q: I have thousands of photos and videos on my Windows 7 PC that I stream to my third-generation Apple TV. The problem is, the Apple TV puts ALL of my photos and videos into very large “buckets” in the browsing interface, making it very difficult to find a particular video or picture. Is there any way to browse by folders on the Apple TV similar to the way you can with the Roku or PS3 Server? - Doug A: When accessing photos from a folder,…

27.02.2013 1:00 Uhr

You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.Comments

Google executives are concerned that Samsung's influence on Google's Android operating system is too strong, and the search giant is turning to its other Android partners in hopes of getting back some leverage on the South Korean conglomerate.

Apple has reportedly joined a group of high-power companies, including Apple, Morgan Stanley, Facebook and Intel, among others, are planning on making a case to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of the nationwide legalization of same-sex marriage.

Zynga closed its Boston studio late last year, and some of its former developers have created a new company called Proletariat Inc. The group is set to release its first iPhone game next week, called Letter Rush.
The folks at Proletariat, Inc. aren't new to the startup game. They were originally called Conduit Labs, which Zynga acquired in 2010. We can only assume that their return to independence helped the group kick out a new title so quickly.
Letter Rush is described as "an innovative arcade-spin on the classic word-find mechanic." We'll look for it

Curious what Max Levchin's been up to ever since he left Google in 2011? Well, wonder no more. Today, PayPal's co-founder revealed his return to the payment world with a new company called Affirm. Like many startups, Affirm is looking to make online payments quicker and easier, but the real question is whether you'll be willing to come along for the ride. AllThingsD managed to catch Levchin for an interview, in which he revealed that Affirm will issue credit to consumers and guarantee payment to merchants for all online transactions.

According to a study released on Tuesday, activations of Apple's various iPhones and iPads accounted for eight of the top ten devices activated by enterprise entities for the fourth quarter of 2012, with the current iPhone lineup taking the top three spots.